Author Archives: Gary Morris

About Gary Morris

Dean of the School of Natural Sciences at St. Edward's University.

Shared Studios “Channel” Arrives in JBWS

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The Shared Studios Channel arrives in JBWS lobby. Stop by and "Take On Your World" by talking with someone at a similar Channel in countries around the world.

The Shared Studios Channel arrives in JBWS lobby. Stop by and “Take On Your World” by talking with someone at a similar Channel in countries around the world.

The School of Natural Sciences will proudly host the Shared Studios Channel in the JBWS lobby for the next several months.  The Channel is the follow-on technology to the Portal (the gold shipping container that has been between Andre Hall and the Munday Library since late August) and will connect our lobby space with other such Channels around the world.  We’ve already been linked to Afghanistan, where several students and I met a dental student who was up very late at night to chat with us!

The Channel is a 90″ monitor with a webcam and microphone attached.  We anticipate the Channel to be active for most of the day, but we are uncertain at present to where we will be linked.  If a schedule becomes available, I will post that information here.

Stop by JBWS and “Take On Your World!”

2017 Summer Program in Cancer Research – MD Anderson Cancer Center

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For over twenty-five years, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Science Park has sponsored a Summer Program in Cancer Research (SPCR) for undergraduate students majoring in math or science.  The program is designed to allow students to work on an independent, hypothesis-driven, research project in a biomedical research environment.  For many interns, this experience is very helpful in making subsequent career choices.

Please review the announcement flyer for the 2017 program.   Minority students are encouraged to apply. Interested students can get more information and download the application on our website at http://www.mdanderson.org/scienceparkundergraduateresearch (scroll down to ‘Our Educational Programs’). Please note that the deadline for receipt of the completed application packet is February 1, 2017.

The professional research staff includes junior and senior faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and research scientists.  All members of the faculty are involved in education programs, which include training at the postgraduate, graduate, undergraduate and high school levels.  Thank you for your assistance in publicizing our program.  If you or an interested student have any questions or need more information, please feel free to contact me or Chris Contreras, Program Coordinator.

 

David Johnson, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis
Director, Summer Program in Cancer Research
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Science Park/Research Division
1808 Park Road 1C
Smithville, TX 78957
spcr2017_mdanderson_page_2

Dean hosting open office hours for students now at Jo’s

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photo-on-11-2-16-at-2-31-pm

The Dean is outside of Jo’s Coffeehouse, Ragsdale from 2:30 – 4:00 on Wednesday, 2 November for student open office hours.  Stop by to say, “Hi!”

(He’s set a Pokemon Go lure nearby, too.)

Middlebury School of the Environment Summer 2016 Program

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Applications for the Summer 2017 session of the Middlebury School of the Environment (MSoE) are now available.  The application process uses the rolling admissions model, so you should hear back fairly quickly on whether or not you’re accepted (their web site promises within 6 weeks of submitting your application).

MSoE is a for-credit summer program that combines coursework in environmental studies with leadership and professional skills training. 

The Middlebury School of the Environment is a six-week, integrated program, running from June 23 to August 4, 2017, on Middlebury College’s main campus in Vermont.

The program offers nine semester-hour credits, and financial aid is available.

The curriculum involves two different tracks of study, one on sustainability and understanding place (taught at a more advanced level and intended for students with previous coursework in environmental studies) and one on systems thinking and environmental analysis (taught at a more introductory level).

 Each student, regardless of his/her track of study, also enrolls in one of four electives, depending on their interests.  The four electives we currently have planned are Environmental Video Production; Wicked Environmental Problems; Environmental Pollution; or Nature, Culture, and Ethics.

 The co-curricular program on leadership training focuses on helping students develop the skills they need as professionals to do something effective with the information they learn in their studies.  For this, the faculty of the MSoE are joined by leading environmental professionals and experts in a number of skills that will enhance each student’s ability to be successful no matter what choose to do with their college education.

Feel free to write to me directly with any questions.

Cheers,
Dr. Stephen C. Trombulak
Director, Middlebury School of the Environment
Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753

JHU/APL ATLAS Summer Internship Program

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The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) is a not-for-profit research division of the world-renowned Johns Hopkins University.  Located in Laurel, Maryland, JHU/APL is one of the nation’s premier centers for systems engineering integration, technology research and development, and analysis.  With a staff of 6,000, annual funding over $1.08 billion, and a wealth of intellectual capital, JHU/APL has served as trusted advisors and technical experts to the government for more than 70 years.

 JHU/APL is currently seeking full-time students with a strong academic record for our APL Technology Leadership Scholars (ATLAS) Internship Program.  The ATLAS Internship Program is offered to well-qualified, highly motivated undergraduate and graduate students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Minority Institutions (MIs) who have an interest in applied scientific research.  This highly competitive 10 – 12 week paid summer internship program focuses on building technical and leadership skills that will uniquely prepare students for careers in science and engineering. 

Our goal is to help students understand and appreciate their own aptitudes, grow personally and professionally, and envision their future careers.  In addition to performing cutting-edge research, ATLAS summer interns attend professional development seminars that teach them how to operate effectively in professional and business environments and address interpersonal skill development, interviewing skills, and resume preparation.  They also get the chance to practice communication skills such as technical writing, public speaking, and presenting. 

 ATLAS applicants must have completed at least their sophomore year of college prior to beginning the summer internship, have a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average, and be pursuing a degree in one of the following technical fields:

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Computer Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Computer Science
  • Mathematics
  • Biology
  • Geology
  • Physics

Having successfully hired more than 30 interns as full time employees, the ATLAS Internship Program presents an excellent opportunity for potential full time employment to follow.    

Videos of ATLAS alumni who are now full time employees can be viewed on YouTube.  Applications should be submitted online by December 31st.  http://www.jhuapl.edu/education/diversity/atlas.asp

I appreciate the time and effort you will put forth in passing this information along and look forward to receiving some strong applicants from your respective university.  Please contact me if you should have any questions.

Atlas Brochure

Atlas Alumni Booklet

Profile of JHU APL 

Thank You,

Nykia Jackson Brooks, D.Eng., PMP
ATLAS Internship Program Technical Coordinator
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Engineering and Advanced Development Group
Asymmetric Operations Sector
(240) 228-9255 Office

*************************************

As with all such postings, SEU and the School of Natural Sciences does not endorse or guarantee the quality of any advertised here.  We pass along the information for interested students.  Make sure to follow up with the appropriate contacts to figure out if such programs are a good fit for you.

SEU Portal Extended through November 13

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seuportalsflyer
Consider finding 20 minutes to spend with someone halfway across the world.  It may change your life, or their’s!  Check out the Shared Studios Portal project website.  Make your reservation today.  Currently facilitating visits with Rwanda, Honduras, Gaza, and Mexico City!

This experience is open to all:  students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members.

Take on your world!

Team from UCLA Visits SEU to Learn More about STEM Success of Latino/a Students

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A team of researchers from UCLA is on campus from Wednesday, 19 October through Friday, 21 October to learn more about our STEM programs.  In particular, they identified St. Edward’s University as a top producer of STEM majors from the Latino/a population of students.  Through interviews with our faculty, staff, and administrators, they hope to learn more about our strategies and pedagogical approaches.  Results of their study, which includes just 11 institutions nationally, will be released after they complete their analysis.

The study team from the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA is led by prinicpal investigators Dr. Sylvia Hurtado and Dr. Kevin Eagan.  The on site visit team includes Dr. Hurtado, Tracy Teel, Ana Karen Gomez, and Krystle Cobian.  Here’s a document that provides profiles for all of the site visit team members.

Their visit and study is funded by a grant from the National Institutes for Health (NIH).

iChallenge on the Hilltop – Ideas Due Friday, 21 October

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Here’s some info on this year’s iChallenge on the Hilltop – the Munday School of Business pitch and business plan competition.

The deadline to register new venture idea is Friday, October 21.

Students must submit an application at http://bit.ly/seuichallenge to be able to participate in the competition. We invite students from all majors with innovative concepts to compete.

Ideas can take the form of a new for-profit or non-profit business, app, product or service – or even a solution to a problem. Once the application is submitted for iChallenge on the Hilltop, students will:

  • Pitch their idea to Austin business leaders in the Ideas for Innovation Competition on Tuesday, November 8
  • Partner with faculty and business mentors to develop a plan
  • Gain an understanding of how to attract business investors
  • Present a bold plan and compete for prizes at the Business Plan Competition on Saturday, March 25

Additional details on the competition is available on our website at www.stedwards.edu/business/events. For more info, see the attached flyer or this short video with students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qp428qIW40&feature=youtu.be.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks again,

Katie

—
Katie Finney
Outreach Coordinator, The Bill Munday School of Business

 ideas_for_innovation_flyer

Statement on Friday’s “Debate” of Darwin’s Theory

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We note that this week Friday, 21 October, a “debate” on the viability of Darwin’s theory of evolution is scheduled to take place on our campus between two philosophers of science. While we, the faculty of the School of Natural Sciences at St. Edward’s University, recognize that academic freedom is an essential characteristic of institutions of higher education and that civil discourse is an important educational goal in a free, democratic society, we also recognize our scientific duty to comment on issues, events, and forums on our campus that fall within the realm of science and for which the scientific community has a clear point of view.

To that end, we note that our science faculty are not involved in the event itself nor in its organization or promotion. Although the philosophers involved in the event may identify philosophical issues for debate, we do not recognize any legitimate scientific issues up for debate with respect to evolutionary theory.

We write to state clearly that the theory of evolution has undergone significant review in the scientific literature and remains the best, most coherent explanation of the observed development of life on Earth. While specific mechanisms within evolutionary theory remain the subject of modern research, we reiterate that subject of evolution itself is not up for debate in the scientific community.

Numerous scientific societies, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Astronomical Society, the American Chemical Society, the American Geophysical Union, the American Institute of Physics, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, and the National Academy of Sciences, have issued statements on the subject of evolution and intelligent design, confirming the demonstrated success of the former and rejecting the scientific viability of latter. The undersigned faculty in the School of Natural Sciences at St. Edward’s University fully embrace this point of view.

  • Dr. Gary A. Morris, Dean of Natural Sciences
  • Dr. Eamonn F. Healy, Professor of Chemistry
  • Dr. Richard Kopec, Associate Dean of Natural Sciences and Professor of Chemistry and Computer Science
  • Dr. William Quinn, Chair and Professor of Biological Sciences
  • Dr. Tricia Shepherd, Chair and Professor of Chemistry
  • Dr. Patricia Baynham, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences
  • Dr. Lisa Goering, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences
  • Dr. Charles Hauser, Associate Professor of Bioinformatics
  • Dr. David Wright, Associate Professor of Physics and Mathematics
  • Dr. Raychelle Burks, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
  • Dr. Santiago A. Toledo, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
  • Dr. Barbara Dugleby, Director of the Wild Basin Creative Research Center
  • Dr. Sughangi Ghosh, Visiting Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences

This post appeared in the Wednesday, 19 October 2016 edition of Hilltop Views.

Dept. of Energy Scholars Internship Program – Due 15 Dec. 2016

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Scientific research conducted through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) supports an improved quality of life for all Americans. With a mission focused on discovering solutions to power and to secure America’s future, DOE is committed to:

· Energy security
· Nuclear security
· Scientific discovery and innovation
· Environmental responsibility
· Management excellence

What is the DOE Scholars Program?

The DOE Scholars Program offers unique opportunities that introduce students or post-graduates to the agency’s mission and operations. Participants in the DOE Scholars Program gain a competitive edge as they apply their education, talent and skills in a variety of scientific research settings within the DOE complex.

Here is the link to apply.

Note that neither the Dean’s Office in the School of Natural Sciences nor St. Edward’s University are affiliated with this program.  Like all such programs that arrive in the Dean’s inbox and which are posted here, we do not vouch for the quality of the program.  Feel free to ask questions should you have them!